


The Wood of Cathays

by KahtyaSofia



Category: Merlin (BBC), Torchwood
Genre: Crossover, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-26
Updated: 2009-11-26
Packaged: 2017-10-03 18:30:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KahtyaSofia/pseuds/KahtyaSofia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur shares a magical location with Merlin and they make their own brand of magic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wood of Cathays

**Author's Note:**

> Completey unbeta'd, all errors are mine. This is my first Merlin fanfic. It borders on the ridiculous and may even tread in into purple prose. I kept the narrative classical, in keeping with the midevil theme but the dialog should be anachronistic, in keeping with the tone of the show.

Arthur looked around them, at the snow-covered forest and the frosted air that marked their every exhalation. Their passage through the land was muffled, in spite of their numbers. Snow had a way of doing that to sound. It would be beautiful and peaceful is it weren't so damnably cold.

Arthur blew into his gloved hands to warm them. From the corner of his eye, he saw Merlin do the same as he huddled further into his blue cloak. He felt a brief stab of fondness and sympathy for the boy. He had no flesh going spare anywhere on his frame. The cold had to be affecting him worse than any of them, battled hardened as they were and sporting the extra layer of their mail and armour.

"Sire," Arthur swivelled his head as the voice of his Captain-at-Arms sounded beside him, "it's beginning to grow dark. We should make camp for the night before the temperature drops any lower."

Arthur nodded his agreement, "See to it." he ordered casually. He glanced back over at Merlin and caught the boy's look of relief, his pinked cheeks stark against his pale skin. Arthur smiled inwardly. Merlin really did have the palest, smoothest skin.

***  
Arthur paced the camp restlessly. He was always oddly unsettled whenever he was here in the Woods of Cathays. His unsettled state was not a bad thing. Arthur never felt threatened or endangered. He simply found it difficult to relax, so he paced. He paced and tried not to think about that clearing that was not so very far away.

"Sit down, Arthur." Merlin said somewhat testily, his teeth finally done chattering as he sat beside a roaring fire. "You're wearing a trough through the centre of camp."

"Can't," Arthur replied, "I'm always on edge in Cathays."

Merlin glanced around them in alarm, "Why? What's out here?"

"These woods are safe enough," Arthur reassured, "otherwise Uthyr would have sent along a larger detail of guards."

"Then why are you uncomfortable being out here?" Merlin asked a legitimate question.

Arthur considered how to answer. He could simply describe the clearing he had stumbled upon years earlier and how it made him feel; or he could show Merlin and see if the boy sensed the same power for himself. Arthur both hoped and suspected that he would.

"Come on, Merlin," Arthur said, decision made, "we're going for a ride."

Arthur strode toward his picketed horse, strapping his sword around his hips as he went. He could hear Merlin sputtering a protest even as he jumped to follow Arthur.

"Sire," one of his knights protested, "it grows dark. You shouldn't leave the safety of the firelight."

"I have my sword and my servant and I'm not going far. No further than shouting distance." Arthur said in his best princely voice as he vaulted onto his horse to ride bareback. "I simply want to show Merlin something that might interest him and Gaius."

Arthur reached a hand down and hauled a too-light Merlin onto the Destrier's back behind him. Before any of his guards could protest further, Arthur laid spurs to his horse and they darted off into the snow-covered trees.

"Where are we going?" Merlin asked as his arms wrapped reflexively around Arthur's waist. He felt himself leaning back just slightly into the heat of Merlin's body, feeling it seep through into his own chilled bones.

"You'll see when we get there," Arthur said over his shoulder, enjoying both the secret and anticipation of the sharing, "I want you to form your own judgments."

Merlin rode behind him in silence.

***  
It took mere moments to locate the clearing. It always seemed to call to Arthur; it seemed to pull at his very blood. He kicked a leg over his Destrier's neck and slid to the ground. He tethered the horse to a tree then helped Merlin to dismount. He kept hold of the boy's hand as he led him through trees that seemed to magically part for their passage.

The clearing was just as Arthur remembered, and just as he had expected it to appear. Flowers and foliage in full bloom surrounded a ring of thick green grass, as wide as the height of a man. The soil of the clearing was dry and the air warm. The entire space seemed untouched by the winter that draped the rest of the forest.

"What is this place" he heard Merlin's awed whisper beside him.

"I don't know," Arthur replied in kind, "it always seems to call to me when I'm nearby and it always looks just like this."

"How many times have you been here?" Merlin asked, stepping further into the circle of grass.

"Four, five times now." Arthur answered.

"And it always looks and feels the same way?" Merlin sounded as awed as Arthur felt.

"Always green and always warm." Arthur couldn't keep the wonder from his voice.

"What causes it?" Merlin asked, and Arthur caught sight of a strange, wary look on the boy's face.

"I don't know for sure but local legends tell of a man who came from beyond the stars buried deep under the earth in this very spot," this is why Arthur had brought Merlin here; to share the stories of this clearing that he'd gathered over time, "an immortal man, laying undying beneath our feet for all of time."

Arthur sensed Merlin's shiver more than he saw or felt it.

"Another story tells of a man, not of our world, unable to stay dead; betrayed and buried by a brother and a friend to die and revive for eternity." Arthur was walking the edge of the clearing as he spoke. It was warm enough to remove his cloak now so he tossed it onto the vibrant grass.

"Some versions of the story say the undying man was torn from the arms of a lover by the two who betrayed him and that this place, how it's always warm and green, is his tribute to his true love." Arthur liked that version best, even if he didn't really believe in true love.

"Do the stories tell why he was betrayed? Why they chose to bury him?" Merlin asked, having tossed aside his own cloak.

"Some say the man asked to do penance for past sins, others say it was done as retribution for imagined slights." Arthur said as he drew closer to Merlin who now stood glancing around delightedly. "Still another version says the immortal is waiting for a time in the distant future when he'll rise up to save us all before reuniting with his lost love and returning to the stars." Arthur really liked the idea that that version was true.

"Do you believe the stories?" Merlin asked, turning suddenly to face Arthur, delight apparent in his fine, youthful features.

Arthur allowed himself a small, unprince-like smile, "I like to think some of them are."

"Which ones?" Merlin asked as he spun in a circle, very much like a child.

"The ones that say if a man comes here with his true love, they'll never be parted," Arthur's smile widened as he spoke, "the ones that say if a king comes here with conquest in his heart, he'll lose his crown. But if a king enters the clearing with benevolence in his heart his reign will last decades and his kingdom will prosper."

"What's in your heart, Arthur?" Merlin asked and Arthur was stunned by the sudden intensity in the boy's eyes.

"I like to think I have a good heart." Arthur replied, feeling he owed Merlin sincerity.

Merlin's smile became suddenly shy and he dropped his eyes, seemingly unable to hold Arthur's gaze any longer, "I know you do."

Arthur felt that heart kick up at the sight of the delicate blush that spread over Merlin's pale features. "Thank you, Merlin." he murmured.

Merlin suddenly dropped onto his back, lay on his discarded cloak, and gazed up at the small patch of blue sky above, "So, are you going to bring your wife here, someday?"

Arthur lay back beside Merlin and gave him a curious glance, "What wife is that?"

"When you take a wife," Merlin explained, "will you bring her here to ensure you're never parted from your one true love?" there was thankfully a hint of humour in Merlin's tone.

"Who says I'll even love the woman I marry?" Arthur asked, suddenly saddened by the thought of what was a very real possibility for him, as Prince of Camelot. Remembering Merlin's blush of just moments before, Arthur chanced an inquiry, "Better to ask why I brought you here."

Merlin's pause was so long, Arthur thought perhaps he wasn't going to respond at all. Finally, "Why did you bring me, your servant, to a place like this?"

"Maybe I wanted to share it with someone I knew would appreciate it." Arthur said simply. He turned to look at Merlin at the same time the boy turned to look at him and their faces were startlingly close in that moment.

"Arthur…" Merlin whispered, his eyes darting down to Arthur's lips briefly before raising back up to capture his gaze again.

"You can feel it, can't you, Merlin?" Arthur asked softly, his hand reaching out of its own volition to caress the boy's silken cheek.

"Yes, I feel…something." Merlin confirmed, pressing slightly into Arthur's caress, his eyes held a glimmer of affection, hope, and something more primal.

In an instant, Arthur was atop Merlin's slighter frame, pressing the boy into the ground and their hips together tightly. He shifted and settled himself between Merlin's thighs, letting their burgeoning erections rub against each other deliciously.

Arthur knew he shouldn't be doing this. Merlin was his servant; his charge, and his responsibility. He had no business kissing the boy breathless as he found himself doing right now. Merlin didn't seem to be protesting; in fact he was returning the kiss ardently.

He couldn't stop himself, Arthur found, now that he'd started. Merlin's lips were soft and pliable and his tongue was sinfully pleasant as it danced against his own. Arthur's breathing was harsh now, and Merlin's own echoed it.

Arthur pressed himself firmly against Merlin's body and found the boy was as hard as he was now, aroused fully by a simple kiss. He felt Merlin's hands thread through his hair and he groaned into the boy's mouth. Merlin answered by moving his hands to Arthur's hips and pulling him closer.

Arthur pulled back, gasping for breath. He looked down at Merlin and saw a dull flush had spread over his neck and his cheeks. His eyes burned with a fire that was all for Arthur.

"Merlin," Arthur began, his voice rough with desire, "may I have you, please?"

"What?" Merlin's eyes widened, "Here? Now?"

"Can you name a better time or place?" Arthur countered; lowering his head to claim once again Merlin's swollen lips.

"All right, then." Merlin acquiesced and Arthur's blood sang in his veins.

Pulling back slightly, Arthur patted Merlin's hip to encourage him to roll over onto his stomach. At the same time he retrieved a small vial from inside his trousers. He laid the dark bottle aside.

Arthur and Merlin together opened Merlin's clothing, baring his flushed skin to the elements and Arthur's gaze. He paused to run his hands over Merlin's firm arse, and felt his own erection twitch with anticipation. Arthur opened his own clothing and freed his straining cock, then took up the previously discarded vial.

Prying open the stopper, Arthur inhaled deeply of the aroma of the oil inside. It was olive oil, from the Isles of Greece and the fields of the once-great Roman Ceasers. A Camelot apothecary had infused it with essences of lavender and other stimulants, designed to enhance pleasure. Arthur coated his fingers liberally, and slid them gently into Merlin's body. This oil of the Mediterranean was the only thing worthy of easing the passage of a Prince of Camelot.

Merlin lifted his hips and pressed backward into Arthur's questing fingers. He obliged the boy with several deep strokes and a gentle press on that nodule, just so…and Merlin moaned deeply.

Arthur doused his cock with the oil and slicked it up, admiring the shine that coated his length. He stoppered the vial again and helped Merlin to lift his hips up higher. He leaned over, pressed his chest to Merlin's back, laid a kiss behind the boy's ear, and sank in deep.

Merlin gave a quiet cry of surprise and pleasure as Arthur sheathed himself fully. He reached around to find Merlin's own straining erection and he smoothed the remaining oil from his hand onto Merlin's shaft.

"Stroke yourself in time with me," Arthur told Merlin, as he reached to pull the boy's back into his chest.

Arthur felt Merlin's arm begin to move in strokes that matched the tempo of Arthur's hips. He slid himself from Merlin's heat, only to slip himself back in quick, relishing the feel of his balls slapping against the tender skin of Merlin's arse. Arthur breathed heavily against the back of Merlin's neck, mouthing at the tender skin there, and listening to the boy moan in pleasure with each thrust.

"Arthur, I'm…" Merlin gasped, and then stopped suddenly. His hand continued to work himself just as Arthur worked himself in and out of his body. He knew Merlin's climax was close, just as his own was drawing near.

"Let go with me, Merlin," Arthur whispered into his ear, "fall over the edge with me."

Not always the most reliable of servants, Merlin nevertheless did as Arthur bade him. He released his seed into his own hand even as Arthur shot his own deep inside of Merlin's body.

When they collapsed together, Arthur was careful not to crush the smaller boy beneath him. He did, however, press himself closely to Merlin's heated body as they lay in the afterglow. He felt no need to move immediately, and it didn't seem as though Merlin was in a hurry, either.

After what felt like hours, but was most likely just minutes, Arthur stirred. He took up the edge of his cloak and eased Merlin over onto his side. He carefully cleaned away the evidence of their joining from the boy's skin. Together, they stood and straightened one another's garments, before putting back on their cloaks.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Arthur," Merlin said, once again seeming shy.

Feeling a sudden wave of affection wash over him, Arthur pulled Merlin in close for a brief moment, and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Thank you for seeing how special this place is."

Arthur took Merlin by the hand and led him back to the waiting horse and helped him mount. They rode back to camp in a companionable silence.

Back in the clearing, a shaft of sunlight broke through the snow-laden trees and cast soft golden hues on the grass where the lovers had so recently lain.

(OK to convert and Kindle as long as header remains intact)


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